As manufacturers invest heavily in robotics, artificial intelligence and increasingly autonomous production systems, one challenge is emerging that many factories did not anticipate: making sure people remain effective when they stop operating machines and start supervising them.
Across sectors from aerospace and automotive to food manufacturing and energy, automation has transformed productivity. But while machines are becoming increasingly capable of making decisions independently, engineering specialists warn that the role of the operator is becoming more demanding rather than less.
For Brierley Hill-based electrical control systems manufacturer and automation integrator Banelec, the future of automation is not about removing people from manufacturing. It is about designing systems that enable people and technology to work together more effectively.
Managing Director Dean Banner believes many businesses are now entering a second phase of industrial automation.
“The first generation of automation was about replacing manual tasks,” he said. “The next generation is about helping people supervise increasingly intelligent systems. That is actually a much bigger engineering challenge because you’re no longer simply programming a machine — you’re designing how people interact with it.”
Recent discussion among human factors specialists has highlighted how operators can become less engaged as automated systems become more reliable. Instead of actively controlling production, operators increasingly monitor screens and intervene only when something unexpected happens. While this appears simpler on paper, it introduces entirely different operational risks.
“If an operator spends most of the day watching a perfectly functioning automated process, then the one moment something abnormal happens becomes absolutely critical,” said Banner.
“They need the right information immediately. They need confidence in what they’re seeing. Most importantly, they need control systems that have been engineered around how people actually make decisions under pressure.”
That philosophy increasingly shapes Banelec’s approach to electrical control panel manufacture, PLC programming, HMI development and full factory automation projects.
Rather than overwhelming operators with hundreds of alarms, complex graphics or unnecessary process information, modern control systems are increasingly designed to present only the information that matters most at the point decisions need to be made.
“It isn’t simply about making screens look attractive,” Banner explained.
“It’s about understanding the production process, understanding the operator and designing interfaces that allow good decisions to be made quickly. Good automation isn’t measured by how much it automates. It’s measured by how effectively it supports the people responsible for running the process.”
The challenge is becoming increasingly important as manufacturers integrate robotics, vision systems, energy management, machine connectivity and AI-assisted monitoring into single production environments. Instead of supervising one machine, operators may now oversee multiple automated production cells simultaneously.
That places greater importance on system integration, alarm management and intelligent control architecture. “We’re seeing customers asking for much more than standalone automation,” said Banner.
“They want production equipment, utilities, energy systems and quality monitoring working together through one integrated control platform. When something changes anywhere in the factory, operators need to understand what’s happened almost instantly.”
The trend also reinforces the importance of electrical control engineering at a time when manufacturers continue investing in digital transformation.
Behind every robot, conveyor, production line or automated handling system sits a network of PLCs, safety systems, sensors, drives and control panels that ultimately determine how people interact with increasingly complex manufacturing environments.
For Banelec, this represents one of the biggest opportunities facing British engineering.
“As automation becomes more sophisticated, electrical control systems become even more important,” Banner said.
“The technology itself isn’t the difficult part anymore. The real value comes from integrating everything together so operators trust the system, understand what it’s doing and know exactly when they need to intervene.”
He believes that manufacturers investing in automation should evaluate projects on more than productivity alone.
“Everyone talks about faster cycle times and labour savings, but the best automation projects also improve decision-making, reduce operator stress and make production more resilient when unexpected situations occur.
“Ultimately, automation shouldn’t replace human expertise. It should amplify it. That’s where good engineering makes the difference.”
As UK manufacturers continue modernising factories through automation, AI and connected production technologies, the businesses achieving the greatest long-term success may be those that recognise the most advanced system in the factory is still the person overseeing it.